VENUS: When red meets blue A multiply imaged little red dot with an apparent blue companion behind the galaxy cluster Abell 383
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2026

We report the discovery of a doubly imaged little red dot (LRD) candidate behind the galaxy cluster Abell 383, which we dub A383-LRD1. Initially classified as a dropout galaxy in HST imaging with several ground-based emission line detections placing it at z(spec) = 6.027, new JWST/NIRCam observations taken as part of the cycle 4 VENUS survey now reveal that the source consists of two underlying components. These consist of a red point-source with a V-shaped SED consistent with LRD selection criteria and a nearby (similar to 380 pc) compact blue companion, which was the main contributor to the previous rest-frame UV detections. Based on lensing symmetry and its SED, the LRD appears to lie at a similar redshift as well. The magnification of the two images of A383-LRD1 is mu(A) = 16.2 +/- 1.2 and mu(B) = 9.0 +/- 0.6, respectively, and the predicted time delay between them is Delta t(grav) = 5.20 +/- 0.14 yr (similar to 0.7 yr in the rest-frame). After correcting for the lensing magnification, we derived an absolute magnitude of M-UV,M- LRD = -16.8 +/- 0.3 for the LRD and M-UV,M- BC = -18.2 +/- 0.2 for the blue companion. We performed SED fits to both components, revealing the LRD to show the best fit with a black hole star (BH*) model and a substantial host galaxy, along with the blue companion with an extremely young, emission-line dominated star-forming nebula. If it is verified spectroscopically in the future, A383-LRD1 would represent the second known multiply imaged LRD detected to date, following A2744-QSO1. To our knowledge, it would also stand as the first LRD system with a confirmed detection of [C II]lambda 158 mu m emission from ALMA observations. Thanks to the lensing magnification, this system opens a unique door to studying the relation between a LRD, its host galaxy, and its environment. It represents a prime candidate for deep JWST spectroscopy and high-resolution ALMA follow-up observations.

galaxies: high-redshift

quasars: general

gravitational lensing: strong

Författare

Miriam Golubchik

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Lukas J. Furtak

University of Texas at Austin

University of Texas

Joseph F. V. Allingham

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Adi Zitrin

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Hollis B. Akins

University of Texas at Austin

University of Texas

Vasily Kokorev

University of Texas

University of Texas at Austin

Seiji Fujimoto

University of Toronto

Abdurro'uf

Indiana University

Ricardo O. Amorin

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)

Franz E. Bauer

Universidad de Tarapacá

Rachel Bezanson

University of Pittsburgh

Marusa Bradac

University of California

Univerza V Ljubljani

Larry D. Bradley

Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Gabriel B. Brammer

Köpenhamns universitet

John Chisholm

University of Texas at Austin

University of Texas

Dan Coe

Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA)

Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Johns Hopkins University

Christopher J. Conselice

University of Manchester

Pratika Dayal

University of Toronto

Miroslava Dessauges-Zavadsky

Université de Genève

Jose M. Diego

Instituto de Física de Cantabria

Andreas L. Faisst

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Qinyue Fei

University of Toronto

Henry C. Ferguson

Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Steven L. Finkelstein

University of Texas at Austin

University of Texas

Brenda L. Frye

University of Arizona

Mauro Gonzalez-Otero

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)

Jenny E. Greene

Princeton University

Yuichi Harikane

University of Tokyo

Tiger Yu-Yang Hsiao

University of Texas at Austin

University of Texas

Kohei Inayoshi

Beijing University of Technology

Yolanda Jimenez-Teja

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)

Bairro Imperial Sao Cristovao

Kirsten Knudsen

Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Astronomi och plasmafysik

Anton M. Koekemoer

Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Ivo Labbe

Swinburne University of Technology

Ray A. Lucas

Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Georgios E. Magdis

Köpenhamns universitet

Jorryt Matthee

Institute of Science and Technology Austria

Matteo Messa

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

Rohan P. Naidu

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Minami Nakane

University of Tokyo

Gael Noirot

Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Richard Pan

Tufts University

Casey Papovich

Texas A&M University

Johan Richard

Université de Lyon

Massimo Ricotti

University of Maryland

Luke Robbins

Tufts University

Daniel P. Stark

University of California

Fengwu Sun

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Tommaso Treu

University of California

Roberta Tripodi

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

Eros Vanzella

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

Chris Willott

National Research Council Canada

Rogier A. Windhorst

Arizona State University

Astronomy and Astrophysics

0004-6361 (ISSN) 1432-0746 (eISSN)

Vol. 710 A226

Ämneskategorier (SSIF 2025)

Datavetenskap (datalogi)

Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi

DOI

10.1051/0004-6361/202558407

Mer information

Senast uppdaterat

2026-06-30